“a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel”

Jesus Christ, as stated in the Canticle of Simeon, is glory to Israel and light to the Gentiles. This canticle which is prayed each night by the Church in the Liturgy of the Hours is not just the prayer of Simeon, but the prayer of the Christian. “Lord, now you let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people: a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.” [1] The Magi are the first of the Gentiles to be drawn by the Light and adore the Light.

The Magi, who are drawn by the Light and adore the Light, are now welcome to become children born of the light. Saint Paul the apostle to the Gentiles, will tell the Church in Ephesus to “Live as children born of the light. Light produces every kind of goodness and justice and truth.” [2] Jesus, the Light of the World, is the source of every kind of goodness, justice, and truth. Only in the Light of Christ can we see the reality and detail of goodness, justice, and truth in our world. Without Christ we see only a shadow or a mere image of reality.

The Light comes not only for the Gentile, but also for the promised people of Israel, who when they encounter Jesus, witness the hidden God of the Old Testament in all His glory. He is “the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” [3]
 
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the “mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way” [4] in the Old Testament. This hiddenness comes to life, and thus we do not remain in the shadows when we read and understand the New Testament. Saint John says, “This is what we proclaim to you: what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked upon and our hands have touched – we speak of the word of life. (This life became visible; we have seen and bear witness to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life that was present to the Father and became visible to us.) What we have seen and heard we proclaim in turn to you so that you may share life with us. This fellowship of ours is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” [5]

Through Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Apostles, we have seen the light with our own eyes and thus once we have seen and heard, we desire to proclaim in turn to others so that they may also share in the life with us. This fellowship we not only crave for our self but for others as well.

If we have only seen shadows or images of a thing or whole life, we appreciate the detail and beauty of the real thing when we see it. In the same way, once we have seen the reality of a thing, we can better recognize the shadow or image of the reality. For example when we see the shadow or image, we immediately think not of the shadow or image but rather of the real thing it represents. In scripture when we look at the Old Testament types, we immediately begin to see what they foreshadow in the New Testament. 

Search: Typology

Jesus whole life is a manifestation. The Light of Christ does not rise suddenly and blind us; instead His light, truth, and glory are manifested throughout His life. The fact that Jesus is the anointed One, the Son of the living God is slowly manifested. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “the manifestation of this fact takes place only progressively: to the shepherds, to the magi, to John the Baptist, to the disciples. Thus the whole life of Jesus Christ will make manifest ‘how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.’” [6] The Liturgical Year is our chance each year to enter into the Life of Christ and see this manifestation first hand. If we lived during the time of Christ what would be the chance of us being present, in the order of nature, at every event in the Life of Christ? This was the privilege of only a few people, like or Blessed Mother, Saints Peter, James, and John. Even these privileged few were not at every event. Because of the Liturgical Year, we can be present, in the order of Grace, at every event in the life of Our Lord.

What is our role in the manifestation of Christ? We are all obligated to manifest what has been manifested to us. We profess that Jesus Christ is King and Lord to all. We wait with great hope to His final coming.
 
In the Old Testament, God manifested Himself to Moses in the burning bush. After God manifested Himself to Moses, He called Moses. Just as works proceed from faith, Moses first believed, because He saw and then He was given a mission. God said to Moses, “Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” When we read Exodus 3 and 4, we see that it took much grace in order to give Moses a lively faith.

ACTIVITY – Read Exodus Chapter 3 and 4
Moses does not readily accept the mission God gives him, in fact Moses even in spite of many signs tries to get out of the mission. In the end, however, we know that Moses does accept the mission God gives and God saves His people, through His servant Moses. How many excuses does Moses give to try to get out of the mission? What is God’s response to each excuse? What are the excuses we have given God? What is God’s response to us?

Mary is called the burning bush. “In Mary, the Holy Spirit manifests the Son of the Father, now become the Son of the Virgin. She is the burning bush of the definitive theophany. Filled with the Holy Spirit she makes the Word visible in the humility of his flesh. It is to the poor and the first representatives of the gentiles that she makes him known.” [7] In Mary we see both the manifestation and the mission. The Word becomes flesh within the womb of Mary and Mary says regarding the incarnate Word, “be it done to me according to your word.” [8]
 
How are Mary and Moses different in their response? Mary, unlike Moses, is obedient right away to the mission she is given. However, for Moses it too a great deal of, grace to enliven the faith and spur him to good works. Our Blessed Mother is already “full of Grace” and thus says yes in faith, and unites herself with the will of the Father.

How are Mary and Moses similar in their response? Both are given the grace necessary to accomplish the task that has been given them by God. Moses says to God, “If you please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past, nor recently, nor now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and tongue.” God the gives Him the grace and confidence saying, “Go then! It is I who will assist you in speaking and will teach you what you are to say.” In the case of Mary, she is called “full of Grace” and told that “the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and that power of the Most High will overshadow you”.

[1] Luke 2:29-32
[2] Ephesians 5:8-9
[3] John 1:14
[4] Catechism of the Catholic Church - 122
[5] 1 John 1:1-3 [Evening Prayer II, Christmas]
[6] Catechism of the Catholic Church - 486
[7] Catechism of the Catholic Church - 724
[8] Luke 1:38